The Victoria Grizzlies have scraped by with five defencemen in recent games but blue line help has arrived just in time for a key home-and-home sa国际传媒 Hockey League set against the Clippers beginning tonight in Nanaimo and continuing Saturday night at The Q Centre.
The Grizzlies have added six-foot-three rearguard Ranvir Gill-Shane, 20, in a trade this week with the Merritt Centennials in exchange for 18-year-old forward Patrick Murphy. The Centennials then flipped Murphy to the Cranbrook Bucks.
Gill-Shane comes with major-junior experience and has played 123 regular-season and 10 playoff games in the Ontario Hockey League with the Ottawa 67’s and Hamilton Bulldogs with 13 assists. The native of Kanata, Ont., had 11 assists in 28 games this season with the Centennials.
“To add a veteran, big, physical defenceman this time of year is a boost,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Rylan Ferster.
“It’s an important piece. We wanted to add depth on the back end.”
Although Gill-Shane’s numbers indicate he is not an offensive threat, Ferster says the lanky rearguard plays within himself and is a big defensive asset: “He knows exactly who he is in terms of his strengths and his role.”
The five-foot-11 Murphy is from Rhode Island and committed to NCAA Div. 1 Brown University. He had seven goals and two assists for nine points in 23 games for the Grizzlies.
“[Murphy] wanted a change of scenery and asked for a trade,” said Ferster.
“It worked out well for both parties.”
The Grizzlies’ blue line will be further bolstered this weekend by the return of Richard Baran from the world junior championship tournament in Gothenburg, Sweden. Although the NCAA Arizona State Sun Devils-committed Baran was a healthy scratch and didn’t get into a game for his native Slovakia, Ferster said experiencing the atmosphere at a world championship will aid in Baran’s development: “Anytime you are picked to represent your country at that level is beneficial and an honour.”
The Grizzlies (19-11-1) and Clippers (18-11-2) are battling for second place in the BCHL Coastal Conference behind the leading Surrey Eagles (23-4-6).
“The teams [Grizzlies and Clippers] are similar in the standings but different otherwise,” said Ferster.
“Nanaimo is a team that scores a whole lot. We are not that type of team. But we take a lot of pride in playing defence with 200-foot players.”
